Attachment for potato-diggers.



L. .fVILlL-,IS ATTACHMENT EUR PGTATO DIGGEBS.

APELIGATXGN FILED SEPT. 0, 1910.

jzjented Jan. 16, 1S

2 SHEETS-SHEBT L LME L. WILLIS.

ATTACHMENT FOR PoTATo DIGGERS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT.9, 1910.

Patented Jan. 16, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

is estaenr-@asigna S N fla:

IFIQE.

LELAND WIaLIS, OF GRENLOCH, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO BATEMAN MANUFAC- TUBING COMPANY, OF GRENLOCH, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ATTACHMENT FOR- POTATO-DIGGERSL Application iledseptember 9, 1910.

To all whom, it may concern.'

Be it known that I, LELAND VVILLIs, a citizen of\the United States, residing in Grenloeh, New Jersey, have invented certainImprovements in Attachments for Potato-Diggers, of which the following is a specification. v

My invention consists of an improvement in that type of potato digging mac'hines in which the potatoes and vines are carried rearwardly from the digging mechanism upon a conveyer consisting of a plurality of transverse rows of rotating disks. Such a machine is shown, for instance, in the patent of Robbins, No. 771,800, dated October 4, 1904.

The object of my invention is to provide means whereby the user of the machine may readily increase or decrease the number of rows of disks in order to best adapt the machine to the proper handling of the particular crop which is being harvested. This object I attain by providing an attachment .which can be readily connected to the frame of the machine, the attachment carrying any desired number of additional transverse rows of disks and provision for rotating the Same and being also provided with a supplementary pusher bar or kicker and means for operating the same, whereby the back-ward passage of the vines over the rowsof disks.

carried by the attachment is facilitated.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure lis a perspective view of the attachment constituting the subject of my invention; Fig. 2 is a View, partly in side elevation and partly in section, of the rear portion of the potato digger and of the attachment de'-v taehed therefrom; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but illustrating' the attachment in its operativerelation to the machine; Fig. 4 is a top or plan view, of a diagrammatic character, illustrating the rows of disks carried by the machine and those carried by the attachment and also illustrating the connections whereby the rows of disks are driven one from another, the parts bearing therelation to each other shown in Fig. 2, and yFig is a similar view, but.' illustrating the parte in` therelation to each other shown in tig. 3a i *The xpotato digging "machine:ltasrawconrever composediof anyvdesired r'rnnheraof --saad :rows'ibeengrxdis- 56 f-posedinlsuc'cession, oneobehisidz anotlieiyfso Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 16,1912. serial 110.581,30?.

the potatoes and vines removed from the ground by the digging mechanism at the 'front of the machine, the disks being laterally spaced in order t-o permit the potatoes to drop between the same, while serving to carry the rnass of vines to the rear.

As' shown in Figs. 4 and 5 I have illustrated a machine having six successive rows of disks, which I have numbered, respectively, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, each of these rows of disks being mounted upon a shaft 1a, 2, 3a, etc., and these shafts being mounted in suitable bearings secured to and depending from the fixed frame of the machine, the shafts 4a, 5a and 6a and the bearing for one end of each 0f these shafts being shown in F igs. 2 and 3. The machine has an elevated shaft 7 provided with sprocket wheels intended to be driven by suitable gearing (not shown) from the traction wheel or axle of the machine. One of the sprocket wheels, by means of an endless chain 0, drives t1 sprocket wheel l0 at one end of the shaft 5, and the other, by means of an endless chain 11, drives a sprocket wheel 12 at the opposite end of the shaft 4a. shaft 5a, by means of an endless chain` 18, drives the shaft 6a, the shaft 4, by means of an endless chain 14, drives the shaft- 3, the latter, by means of an. endless chain 15, drives the shaft 2, and the latter, by means of an endless chain 10, drives the shaft la. The crop to be harvested may, however, bc of such character that the proper separa-I (See Fig. 4). The

tion of the potatoes will not be effected by the number of rows of rotating disks with. which the machine is normally provided, Iand in order to meet this condition, I have devised the attachment shown in the drawings. This attachment comprises lower and upper connected side bars 20 and 21 which can be secured to the corresponding yside members 22 and 23 of the main frame, the -lower side bars of the attachment carrying bearings for the shafts 24:l and 25a of two rows of disks 24 and 25, said shafts 24a and 25a having at one end sprocket wheels connected by an endless chain .26.so as tolpro.- vide for their. ijoint leper-ation.-` wTl-iei' upper (barst21edf ,theattanhmcnt have lbeari'n-gs for a transverse sha1. te27 p the latter; hating', ramener-end; a eprncket wlieslaf andaenaf lsaidibarsailsn'hast'athea aingrtentai Short -sla ft on the main frame of the machine, the attachment also, by preference, having a forked brace 36 for bearing against the shaft 7, and thereby aiding in the rigid support of the bracket 33.

In order to permit of the securing of the lower side bars 2O of the attachment to the side bars 22 of the main frame, the bearings for the shaft 6a are detached from said bars 22 and said shaft, its disks and bearings are removed from the main frame and the bearings are secured to a rearwardly extending portion of the side members 20 of the attachment, the forward ends of the side bars 2() being then fitted to the side bars 22, as shown in Fig. 3, and secured theretol by the same bolts which secure the bearings for the shaft 24a to said bars 20. The same chain 13 Which-formerly connected the shafts 5a and 6a now suilices to connect the shafts 5 and 24a, as shown in Fig. 5, and an additional chainv 37 is employed for connecting the shafts 25a and 6. The chain 9 is removed and replaced by a chain 39, which, as shown in Fig. 3, serves to drive not only the shaft 5 but also the shaft 27, the sprocket Wheel 30 serving as an idler for this' chain. The rear shaft 6a is removed because it is provided with a sprocket .wheel at one end only, and hence is not adapted to drive one of the shafts of the attachment. If it had a sprocket Wheel at each end its removal would not be necessary and the bars 2O of the attachment could be attached to the bars 22 of the main frame otherwise than as shown in the drawings.

Iclaim:

lLIhe combination of a potato digging 'machine having a series of disk carrying shafts located one behind another and gearing for driving said shafts with an attachment also provided with a.. series of disk carrying shafts one behind another, means for connecting the frame members of said ,attachment to corresponding frame members of the machine, and gearingvvhereby thek disk carrying shafts of said attachment are operated from a driven shaft of the main machine. l

2. The combination of a potatodigging machine having a series of disk carrying shafts located one behind another and gearing for driving said shafts, an attachment also provided with a series of disk carrying shafts located one behind another and Withv a crank shaft carrying a pivoted pusher bar, means for connecting the frame members 'of the attachment to corresponding framev members of the main machine,'gearing for driving the disk carrying shafts of the attachment from a'driven shaft of the main clamp for securing the same to a barof the.

machine and a brace for bearinglupon a shaft of said machine.

4. An attachment for pot-ato digging machines, said attachment having frame inembers for lbeing secured to the fixed-frame of the machine and lbeing provided'with plurality of disk-carrying shafts, a crankshaft, a sprocket Wheel thereon, and an idler for directing the sprocket driving chain.

5. An attachment for potato digging machines, said attachment having frame mem- .bers foi` connection with the fixed frame of the machine, and a plurality of disk-carrying shafts, said frame members beingprojected in the rear of said shafts for receiving the bearings of another disk-carrying shaft.

In testimony whereof, I have signed myl naine to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

LELAND WILLIS.

Witnesses: i

E. E. WILSON, HARRY SNYDER. 

